Entry tags:
All the Time in the World, 1/? (Otalia/Xena crossover)
Title: All the Time in the World
Fandom: Otalia/Xena crossover
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17 for language, violence, and sexual situation; most of it will be PG-13 to R
Warnings: Expect the usual Xena-style writing – war, fighting, killing
Summary: The spa weekend takes an unexpected detour.
Author’s Note: I have wanted to start this story for a long time. It’s been in my head for months, and I thought I better write it before someone else gets the idea. Xena was my first fandom obsession and the first piece of fanfic I ever wrote. Watching Otalia reminded me of my love for Xena and Gabrielle because I fell for them probably harder than I did for X & G. I don’t know how often I’ll get to update this with OVS and my co-writing venture with Geekgrrl “Hidden Treasure” going, but I’ll try to do it as often as possible, especially if you all like it. So, if you like it and want me to continue, let me know. Feedback is my drug of choice. ;)
Author’s Note 2: This takes place during the spa weekend hike. However, I’ve changed canon a bit. There was no confession by Olivia during the wedding, and likewise, Natalia took off from the wedding, but she didn’t make her confession in the gazebo either. In other words, this all happens while they’re still in limbo. Oh, and Natalia’s not pregnant here. This fic isn’t going to need any more complications.
Author’s Note 3: Back in the hayday of the BPD and when Guiding Light was coming to a close, there was a bit of a joke on the board about the Springfield time warp because people seemed to move across town at the speed of light. This idea was borne out of that.
Chapter 1
Natalia tilted her head a little, watching the sure gait of Olivia ahead of her as she bounced over fallen tree limbs and ducked around bushes. The weekend away had been uneventful so far. Olivia had given it to Natalia as a gift. Some time away, just to herself, to regroup and think.
Natalia had agreed that she needed it. Up until the moment she had run out on her wedding to Frank, she felt the world had been spinning out of control. Everyone was pushing her forward into a destiny she didn’t really want, when all she wanted to do was stop and think. What she really wanted though was a few feet in front of her, and she knew this. She knew it the moment Olivia had kissed her all those months ago. She really knew it when she practically begged for Olivia to go with her on this trip – a girl’s weekend away with manicures and pedicures. That’s what she had said to convince Olivia, but as she watched the well-shaped hips sway in tight jogging pants in front of her, she knew that she hoped more would come of this weekend than a good manicure. Finding the courage to confess her feelings though was the tougher mountain to climb.
Before she knew it, Olivia had taken off up a hill and she struggled to keep up. At the top, Olivia turned around and waved at her to hurry up, even as she bounced on her toes. “Come on, slow poke!”
Natalia finally reached the top of the hill, out of breath and not amused. She huffed out her words between breaths. “You forget, I’m a city girl.”
“Yeah, well, I grew up on an island so I walked everywhere.” Olivia smiled teasingly, her cheeks rosy with happiness and exertion.
The brunette rested her hands on her knees. “Lucky you.”
When she stood up straight, Olivia had stepped closer and took the lapels of her jacket into her hands. The blonde tugged her forward slightly, green eyes dancing with mischief and taunting. For a moment, Natalia wondered if Olivia knew exactly what she was doing to her and exactly what she hoped to happen.
Olivia’s hands slid down the satin of the jacket, along the zipper, until they rested at the V where it connected. Her voice husky, “You’re such a princess. It looks like you’re getting overheated; maybe you need to take this off.”
Natalia felt the zipper give way as Olivia worked it open, the motion pulling her forward more until they came in contact, hips and thighs brushing. She watched and waited, daring not to move or else break the spell, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Olivia’s full lips.
When Olivia licked her lips and sultry green eyes glanced down at Natalia’s mouth, the younger woman felt drawn in and unable to stop herself. This wasn’t how she planned it, but she couldn’t resist the pull of Olivia anymore than the tides can deny being affected by the moon. She was sure the spinning around her was her own imagination, until Olivia forced her eyes closed and grabbed onto her arm.
The blonde forced her words out around gritted teeth. “What the hell?”
Then Natalia noticed it too – the unsteadiness of her feet as the earth seemed to shift below her, the hard pull and heavy weight on her body, and the sudden flipping of her stomach as nausea and darkness overtook her.
***
The morning dew blanketed the valley below. Atop her horse, Xena surveyed the approaching army coming over the rise to the north. To her right, the sun rose clear and unhindered. In a couple of hours the valley would be cleared of the fog, and she’d have perfect visibility to deal with Caesar’s men. To her left, Gabrielle sat proudly and confidently on her own steed. The tall warrior smiled to herself. Over the years, she had watched firsthand as Gabrielle had transformed from an idealistic young girl to the leader of the Amazon nation and a warrior in her own right.
The blonde leaned forward in her saddle, resting her forearms on the shoehorn. “Looks like we’re outnumbered three to one.” She looked over her shoulder to the gathering of ragtag soldiers in the valley behind them.
Xena followed her line of sight and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay close to Darius.”
Gabrielle smiled knowingly at her. “He’s a good kid, Xena. I’d hate to see him get hurt.”
The dark-haired woman sighed and turned Argo around to head back to their camp. She hated it when Gabrielle let herself get attached to those they helped. When bad things happened to them, she always felt responsible. “Gabrielle?”
Gabrielle turned her horse around as well. “I know, I know. It’s the nature of war.”
Xena shook her head. “Come on; let’s get Darius and the other battalion leaders together. We need to go over the strategy again.”
***
Olivia groaned, feeling every muscle in her body aching like she had lost a fist fight with an 18-wheeler. She pushed up onto her hands and knees, looking around at the open land before her. Hovering a few feet above her head were patches of fog that had yet to lift in what appeared to be the mid-morning sun. It didn’t look familiar at all. Her mind flashed back to her last coherent thought – Natalia’s scream of agony as she felt her pulled from her grip.
She began to look around frantically in hopes of seeing her friend. She called out her name. “Natalia!”
She couldn’t hear anything except the chirping of birds. Walking a few feet, she looked for any sign of the other woman. When she saw nothing, she turned and went back the way she had come. A low-lying stretch of bushes drew her attention and she ran to them. She saw the white sneakers before she saw the rest of Natalia, huddled on the ground in a fetal position. The younger woman was still unconscious.
Olivia fell to her knees beside her. “Oh, thank God! Natalia, come on. Wake up!”
She rolled Natalia to her back and didn’t see any blood or injuries. She felt for a pulse and found it, strong and reassuring. She shook the brunette a little. “Come on, honey. Wake up.” A soft moan from the woman in her arms made her smile. “That’s it. Wake up.”
Slowly, brown eyes opened and connected with warm green ones smiling down at her. “There you are. You had me worried for a moment.”
Natalia rubbed her head where she felt a knot forming. She had a million questions but wasn’t sure where to begin.
Olivia saw the movement of Natalia’s hand to the side of her head and the grimace of pain. “Did you hurt your head? Here, let me see.” She sat Natalia all the way up and crouched down on her other side. She felt around on Natalia’s scalp and sure enough, just above her ear, was a bump and a nasty looking purple bruise forming.
“Does your head hurt?” Olivia asked.
Natalia nodded at the inquiry. Olivia continued, “What about dizzy?”
A sudden wave of nausea passed over Natalia and she felt her stomach tumble and roll. She nodded at the other woman again.
Olivia looked at her concerned. “You could have a concussion. We need to get you to a doctor. Here, can you stand?” She stood and put her hand out to Natalia, guiding her up by her elbow as well. “Now, just where the hell is a doctor? There’s nothing around here, and I have no idea where we’re at. How the hell did we get here? We just have fallen down a hill or something.”
Olivia began to guide Natalia out into the open, but the younger woman pulled back. “I…I think I should stay here.”
“What? Natalia you can’t. There’s nothing around here. We need to get back to the hotel room.” Olivia tugged at her hand.
“Hotel room? What hotel room? And why exactly should I go with you? I don’t even know you.” Natalia jerked her hand away and stepped back.
The blonde shook her head, unnerved by Natalia’s behavior. “What? What do you mean, Natalia?”
Natalia stepped further back out of her reach. “Is that my name? Natalia?”
Realization finally struck Olivia, and she was shaken by it. Natalia didn’t remember her or even her own name, and she had no idea where they were or how they got here. This was not a good situation. A sudden blaring of a horn behind her made her jump, and they both turned in the direction of the noise.
Coming over the hill were hundreds, possibly thousands, of soldiers on horseback. Their metal armor gleaming in the morning light as the thundering of hooves shook the ground beneath the women’s feet. Olivia stepped back and pushed Natalia with her, until they were hiding behind the bush where she had found Natalia. Over the rise to their left, a secondary force rolled down into the valley on horseback. Even from a distance, Olivia could tell that this group wasn’t professional soldiers. Their approach was erratic and disjointed, and they didn’t sport shiny armor or gleaming blades. She reached for Natalia’s arm to brace for the coming impact, but the space behind her was vacant.
To her right, along the tree line, she saw the black and white jogging suit disappear into a thicket of bushes. “Natalia!”
The violent clashing of metal-on-metal was met with blood-chilling screams of pain. Olivia turned back to see the two armies in a discombobulated mess in the field. The soldiers in red and gold uniforms were far superior in ability and numbers, but what that group had in skill, the others had in heart. Several of the far more experienced soldiers fell to the sword of the makeshift army.
Olivia had no idea what was going on. She raced after Natalia trying to figure it out as she went. Maybe she and Natalia had fallen down a hill and into some strange war re-enactment. There was really no other way to explain it, and when she thought of that as a possibility, she felt fairly stupid. She stopped running in hopes of finding Natalia and decided to simply get some help. She approached a man on horseback who was standing in the back of the action. He seemed to be supervising more than actually fighting, so Olivia figured he worked for the re-enactment company.
“Excuse me!” She yelled over the din of metal singing against each other. At least it seemed authentic, Olivia thought.
The muscular, dark-haired man looked down from his horse - a wicked smile showing off brilliant white teeth. “Well, what do we have here?” Olivia shivered a little at the look in his eyes – a look she knew far too well. She took a half step back to give herself some room as the man stepped down and moved forward.
She tried to quirk a sexy smile at him hoping to throw him off so she could gain a little edge back. When it came to men, she liked to be the one in control and call the shots. She tucked some hair behind her ear and looked at him coyly. “It looks like I’m a little lost. Would you happen to know the direction to the spa resort?”
The man looked at her completely confused. “The what?”
Olivia flailed her hands. “Or maybe just a gas station?” The guy tilted his head trying to make sense of her words. “Better yet, do you have your cell phone on you? I left mine in my room, but I can call the hotel and they can send a…”
Olivia stopped speaking when she heard the steady pounding of hooves against dirt. A look of fear came over the man as he spun toward the source of the noise. A high pitched wail rose over all the other sounds, drowning everything out. A sudden glint of light and the sound of a whoosh as a blade moved through the air was all Olivia saw until she looked down and saw the man’s head at her feet.
She jumped back as if she was on fire. The decapitated torso of the man she had been talking to falling within inches of her. “Holy fuck! That’s…that’s so not fake!”
“Come on; take my hand.” A deep feminine voice called down to her.
The blonde looked up to see a beautiful dark-haired woman in leather, a bloody sword in one hand and the other reaching out for her. “Aw, hell no! I don’t think so.”
Olivia backed away but before she realized what had happened, she found herself lifted from the ground and tossed over the saddle of a horse. She struggled to get up, but a heavy forceful hand pushed down on her back.
When the horse underneath her suddenly slowed down and drifted, she rolled her head to the side. Only a few inches above her back was the sharp end of a sword sticking out of the man’s stomach that had picked her up.
The dark-haired woman came up beside the horse and jerked the sword from the dead man’s guts as he fell from the horse to the ground. She looked at Olivia. “Will you come with me now?”
Olivia slid off the horse. She ran her hands through her hair. She looked around to find bodies, bloody and tattered, littering the valley. The armies were thinning out and dispersing. She looked back at the woman on the horse. “I have to find my friend…please. She’s hurt.”
The other woman nodded at Olivia. “We’ll find her.”
Olivia took the woman’s outstretched hand and was effortlessly pulled up to the saddle to sit behind her. “The name’s Xena.”
“Olivia.”
***
The woods became thicker as Natalia weaved her way through the trees. Underbrush hid roots that caused her to trip and she had a hard time focusing on maintaining any kind of path. The glare of the noonday sun was making her head pound and she felt nauseous. Finding a cool spot in the shade, she sat and rested against a tree trunk.
She had no idea what was happening except that she woke up to a woman with amazing green eyes staring down at her. There was something vaguely familiar about the woman that she couldn’t pinpoint, but she couldn’t remember anything about her, not even a name. Frustration ate at her making her head hurt worse. She couldn’t even remember her own name. Though she was pretty certain it was Natalia because that’s what the other woman kept saying.
All she knew was that there was too much noise and confusion. She couldn’t stay there. She had to get away.
She intended to rest her eyes for a moment – just enough time to will the headache away. As she fell into a deep slumber, she never saw the dark figure looming nearby or heard the wicked laughter that filled the air.
Fandom: Otalia/Xena crossover
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17 for language, violence, and sexual situation; most of it will be PG-13 to R
Warnings: Expect the usual Xena-style writing – war, fighting, killing
Summary: The spa weekend takes an unexpected detour.
Author’s Note: I have wanted to start this story for a long time. It’s been in my head for months, and I thought I better write it before someone else gets the idea. Xena was my first fandom obsession and the first piece of fanfic I ever wrote. Watching Otalia reminded me of my love for Xena and Gabrielle because I fell for them probably harder than I did for X & G. I don’t know how often I’ll get to update this with OVS and my co-writing venture with Geekgrrl “Hidden Treasure” going, but I’ll try to do it as often as possible, especially if you all like it. So, if you like it and want me to continue, let me know. Feedback is my drug of choice. ;)
Author’s Note 2: This takes place during the spa weekend hike. However, I’ve changed canon a bit. There was no confession by Olivia during the wedding, and likewise, Natalia took off from the wedding, but she didn’t make her confession in the gazebo either. In other words, this all happens while they’re still in limbo. Oh, and Natalia’s not pregnant here. This fic isn’t going to need any more complications.
Author’s Note 3: Back in the hayday of the BPD and when Guiding Light was coming to a close, there was a bit of a joke on the board about the Springfield time warp because people seemed to move across town at the speed of light. This idea was borne out of that.
Chapter 1
Natalia tilted her head a little, watching the sure gait of Olivia ahead of her as she bounced over fallen tree limbs and ducked around bushes. The weekend away had been uneventful so far. Olivia had given it to Natalia as a gift. Some time away, just to herself, to regroup and think.
Natalia had agreed that she needed it. Up until the moment she had run out on her wedding to Frank, she felt the world had been spinning out of control. Everyone was pushing her forward into a destiny she didn’t really want, when all she wanted to do was stop and think. What she really wanted though was a few feet in front of her, and she knew this. She knew it the moment Olivia had kissed her all those months ago. She really knew it when she practically begged for Olivia to go with her on this trip – a girl’s weekend away with manicures and pedicures. That’s what she had said to convince Olivia, but as she watched the well-shaped hips sway in tight jogging pants in front of her, she knew that she hoped more would come of this weekend than a good manicure. Finding the courage to confess her feelings though was the tougher mountain to climb.
Before she knew it, Olivia had taken off up a hill and she struggled to keep up. At the top, Olivia turned around and waved at her to hurry up, even as she bounced on her toes. “Come on, slow poke!”
Natalia finally reached the top of the hill, out of breath and not amused. She huffed out her words between breaths. “You forget, I’m a city girl.”
“Yeah, well, I grew up on an island so I walked everywhere.” Olivia smiled teasingly, her cheeks rosy with happiness and exertion.
The brunette rested her hands on her knees. “Lucky you.”
When she stood up straight, Olivia had stepped closer and took the lapels of her jacket into her hands. The blonde tugged her forward slightly, green eyes dancing with mischief and taunting. For a moment, Natalia wondered if Olivia knew exactly what she was doing to her and exactly what she hoped to happen.
Olivia’s hands slid down the satin of the jacket, along the zipper, until they rested at the V where it connected. Her voice husky, “You’re such a princess. It looks like you’re getting overheated; maybe you need to take this off.”
Natalia felt the zipper give way as Olivia worked it open, the motion pulling her forward more until they came in contact, hips and thighs brushing. She watched and waited, daring not to move or else break the spell, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Olivia’s full lips.
When Olivia licked her lips and sultry green eyes glanced down at Natalia’s mouth, the younger woman felt drawn in and unable to stop herself. This wasn’t how she planned it, but she couldn’t resist the pull of Olivia anymore than the tides can deny being affected by the moon. She was sure the spinning around her was her own imagination, until Olivia forced her eyes closed and grabbed onto her arm.
The blonde forced her words out around gritted teeth. “What the hell?”
Then Natalia noticed it too – the unsteadiness of her feet as the earth seemed to shift below her, the hard pull and heavy weight on her body, and the sudden flipping of her stomach as nausea and darkness overtook her.
***
The morning dew blanketed the valley below. Atop her horse, Xena surveyed the approaching army coming over the rise to the north. To her right, the sun rose clear and unhindered. In a couple of hours the valley would be cleared of the fog, and she’d have perfect visibility to deal with Caesar’s men. To her left, Gabrielle sat proudly and confidently on her own steed. The tall warrior smiled to herself. Over the years, she had watched firsthand as Gabrielle had transformed from an idealistic young girl to the leader of the Amazon nation and a warrior in her own right.
The blonde leaned forward in her saddle, resting her forearms on the shoehorn. “Looks like we’re outnumbered three to one.” She looked over her shoulder to the gathering of ragtag soldiers in the valley behind them.
Xena followed her line of sight and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay close to Darius.”
Gabrielle smiled knowingly at her. “He’s a good kid, Xena. I’d hate to see him get hurt.”
The dark-haired woman sighed and turned Argo around to head back to their camp. She hated it when Gabrielle let herself get attached to those they helped. When bad things happened to them, she always felt responsible. “Gabrielle?”
Gabrielle turned her horse around as well. “I know, I know. It’s the nature of war.”
Xena shook her head. “Come on; let’s get Darius and the other battalion leaders together. We need to go over the strategy again.”
***
Olivia groaned, feeling every muscle in her body aching like she had lost a fist fight with an 18-wheeler. She pushed up onto her hands and knees, looking around at the open land before her. Hovering a few feet above her head were patches of fog that had yet to lift in what appeared to be the mid-morning sun. It didn’t look familiar at all. Her mind flashed back to her last coherent thought – Natalia’s scream of agony as she felt her pulled from her grip.
She began to look around frantically in hopes of seeing her friend. She called out her name. “Natalia!”
She couldn’t hear anything except the chirping of birds. Walking a few feet, she looked for any sign of the other woman. When she saw nothing, she turned and went back the way she had come. A low-lying stretch of bushes drew her attention and she ran to them. She saw the white sneakers before she saw the rest of Natalia, huddled on the ground in a fetal position. The younger woman was still unconscious.
Olivia fell to her knees beside her. “Oh, thank God! Natalia, come on. Wake up!”
She rolled Natalia to her back and didn’t see any blood or injuries. She felt for a pulse and found it, strong and reassuring. She shook the brunette a little. “Come on, honey. Wake up.” A soft moan from the woman in her arms made her smile. “That’s it. Wake up.”
Slowly, brown eyes opened and connected with warm green ones smiling down at her. “There you are. You had me worried for a moment.”
Natalia rubbed her head where she felt a knot forming. She had a million questions but wasn’t sure where to begin.
Olivia saw the movement of Natalia’s hand to the side of her head and the grimace of pain. “Did you hurt your head? Here, let me see.” She sat Natalia all the way up and crouched down on her other side. She felt around on Natalia’s scalp and sure enough, just above her ear, was a bump and a nasty looking purple bruise forming.
“Does your head hurt?” Olivia asked.
Natalia nodded at the inquiry. Olivia continued, “What about dizzy?”
A sudden wave of nausea passed over Natalia and she felt her stomach tumble and roll. She nodded at the other woman again.
Olivia looked at her concerned. “You could have a concussion. We need to get you to a doctor. Here, can you stand?” She stood and put her hand out to Natalia, guiding her up by her elbow as well. “Now, just where the hell is a doctor? There’s nothing around here, and I have no idea where we’re at. How the hell did we get here? We just have fallen down a hill or something.”
Olivia began to guide Natalia out into the open, but the younger woman pulled back. “I…I think I should stay here.”
“What? Natalia you can’t. There’s nothing around here. We need to get back to the hotel room.” Olivia tugged at her hand.
“Hotel room? What hotel room? And why exactly should I go with you? I don’t even know you.” Natalia jerked her hand away and stepped back.
The blonde shook her head, unnerved by Natalia’s behavior. “What? What do you mean, Natalia?”
Natalia stepped further back out of her reach. “Is that my name? Natalia?”
Realization finally struck Olivia, and she was shaken by it. Natalia didn’t remember her or even her own name, and she had no idea where they were or how they got here. This was not a good situation. A sudden blaring of a horn behind her made her jump, and they both turned in the direction of the noise.
Coming over the hill were hundreds, possibly thousands, of soldiers on horseback. Their metal armor gleaming in the morning light as the thundering of hooves shook the ground beneath the women’s feet. Olivia stepped back and pushed Natalia with her, until they were hiding behind the bush where she had found Natalia. Over the rise to their left, a secondary force rolled down into the valley on horseback. Even from a distance, Olivia could tell that this group wasn’t professional soldiers. Their approach was erratic and disjointed, and they didn’t sport shiny armor or gleaming blades. She reached for Natalia’s arm to brace for the coming impact, but the space behind her was vacant.
To her right, along the tree line, she saw the black and white jogging suit disappear into a thicket of bushes. “Natalia!”
The violent clashing of metal-on-metal was met with blood-chilling screams of pain. Olivia turned back to see the two armies in a discombobulated mess in the field. The soldiers in red and gold uniforms were far superior in ability and numbers, but what that group had in skill, the others had in heart. Several of the far more experienced soldiers fell to the sword of the makeshift army.
Olivia had no idea what was going on. She raced after Natalia trying to figure it out as she went. Maybe she and Natalia had fallen down a hill and into some strange war re-enactment. There was really no other way to explain it, and when she thought of that as a possibility, she felt fairly stupid. She stopped running in hopes of finding Natalia and decided to simply get some help. She approached a man on horseback who was standing in the back of the action. He seemed to be supervising more than actually fighting, so Olivia figured he worked for the re-enactment company.
“Excuse me!” She yelled over the din of metal singing against each other. At least it seemed authentic, Olivia thought.
The muscular, dark-haired man looked down from his horse - a wicked smile showing off brilliant white teeth. “Well, what do we have here?” Olivia shivered a little at the look in his eyes – a look she knew far too well. She took a half step back to give herself some room as the man stepped down and moved forward.
She tried to quirk a sexy smile at him hoping to throw him off so she could gain a little edge back. When it came to men, she liked to be the one in control and call the shots. She tucked some hair behind her ear and looked at him coyly. “It looks like I’m a little lost. Would you happen to know the direction to the spa resort?”
The man looked at her completely confused. “The what?”
Olivia flailed her hands. “Or maybe just a gas station?” The guy tilted his head trying to make sense of her words. “Better yet, do you have your cell phone on you? I left mine in my room, but I can call the hotel and they can send a…”
Olivia stopped speaking when she heard the steady pounding of hooves against dirt. A look of fear came over the man as he spun toward the source of the noise. A high pitched wail rose over all the other sounds, drowning everything out. A sudden glint of light and the sound of a whoosh as a blade moved through the air was all Olivia saw until she looked down and saw the man’s head at her feet.
She jumped back as if she was on fire. The decapitated torso of the man she had been talking to falling within inches of her. “Holy fuck! That’s…that’s so not fake!”
“Come on; take my hand.” A deep feminine voice called down to her.
The blonde looked up to see a beautiful dark-haired woman in leather, a bloody sword in one hand and the other reaching out for her. “Aw, hell no! I don’t think so.”
Olivia backed away but before she realized what had happened, she found herself lifted from the ground and tossed over the saddle of a horse. She struggled to get up, but a heavy forceful hand pushed down on her back.
When the horse underneath her suddenly slowed down and drifted, she rolled her head to the side. Only a few inches above her back was the sharp end of a sword sticking out of the man’s stomach that had picked her up.
The dark-haired woman came up beside the horse and jerked the sword from the dead man’s guts as he fell from the horse to the ground. She looked at Olivia. “Will you come with me now?”
Olivia slid off the horse. She ran her hands through her hair. She looked around to find bodies, bloody and tattered, littering the valley. The armies were thinning out and dispersing. She looked back at the woman on the horse. “I have to find my friend…please. She’s hurt.”
The other woman nodded at Olivia. “We’ll find her.”
Olivia took the woman’s outstretched hand and was effortlessly pulled up to the saddle to sit behind her. “The name’s Xena.”
“Olivia.”
***
The woods became thicker as Natalia weaved her way through the trees. Underbrush hid roots that caused her to trip and she had a hard time focusing on maintaining any kind of path. The glare of the noonday sun was making her head pound and she felt nauseous. Finding a cool spot in the shade, she sat and rested against a tree trunk.
She had no idea what was happening except that she woke up to a woman with amazing green eyes staring down at her. There was something vaguely familiar about the woman that she couldn’t pinpoint, but she couldn’t remember anything about her, not even a name. Frustration ate at her making her head hurt worse. She couldn’t even remember her own name. Though she was pretty certain it was Natalia because that’s what the other woman kept saying.
All she knew was that there was too much noise and confusion. She couldn’t stay there. She had to get away.
She intended to rest her eyes for a moment – just enough time to will the headache away. As she fell into a deep slumber, she never saw the dark figure looming nearby or heard the wicked laughter that filled the air.
